Ice-harvesting apparatus



Jan. 9 5- I 1,521,713

H. D. POWNALL ICE HARVESTING APPARATUS Filed Apri 14, 1925 Patented Jan. 6, 1925.

HENRYJ). IOWNALL, or CANTON, orrio.

ICE-HARVESTING APPARATUS.

Application filed April 14, 1923. Serial No. 631,993.

To all whom it may concern:

'Be it known that I, HE RY D. PoWNALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Canton, in the county of Stark and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ice-Harvesting Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in ice harvesting apparatus. One of its objects is to provide improved anchor means to be partly frozen into the respective ice blocks to provide for attaching the ice blocks to traveling crane mechanism to thereby lift the ice blocks from the ice cans and transport the ice blocks to an icestor age room. Another object isto provide anchor means adapted to be more firmly and advantageously anchored into the ice blocks and adapted to be conveniently thawed from 1 or released from the ice blocks when re-' 'quired. Another object is to provide improved anchor means adapted to automatically adjust, or self-center itself with reference to its hoisting means. Another object is to provide for the automatic adjustment of self-centering simultaneously of a plurality of anchor members with reference to a single hoisting means to provide for i conveniently and practically hoisting aplurality of ice blocks simultaneously by a single hoisting apparatus. My invention also comprises certain details of form'and combination of components, all of which will be fully set forth in the description of the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a portion of a tank room illustrating ice harvesting apparatus embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan of one of my improved anchor members detached.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional detail through a portion of an ice-can showing one of my improved anchor members applied in.posi

tion" relative thereto. r

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail taken-on'lin'e' -44ofFig.3. 7

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of my im-' proved means to thaw the anchor member loose from the ice-blocks. L

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred embodiment of my invention in L which 16 represents the cross-rails of the anchor-members from each of which depend the tubular sections 17 and 18. The cross rails 16 are provided at their opposite ends with channels 19 and-20 which receive opposite sides of the upper edge 15 of the re' spectiv'e ice cans so as to support the'cro's'srails 16 upon and across the top of the -re spective ice cans 1 1 and retain said crossrails in place'thereon withiifprescribed limits. The tubular sections 17 and'18 are pref-" erably sections of metal pipe'threaded into the recesses 22 and'23vertically through the cross-rails 16. Said sections 17 and" 18 are designed toproject downwardlyin' pairs into the freshwater in the respective ice cans upon opposite; sides of the center of.

said ice cans, whereby when thefresh water in the ice cans isiconverted into ice the sec' tions 17 and 18 are frozen into the solid clear strong ice, upon opposite sides of the core 250i more porous iceformed at the center of the ice blocks by the conversion of the last fractions of the fresh water, into ice.

The sections 17 and 18 are each closed at the lower end by a cap 26 to thereby form a water proofchamber 21 in the interior of .each ofsaid sections 17 and 18 to prevent water entering and solidifying within said chambers.- In practice a plurality of the ice cans are permanently located side by side within a brine'or freezing tank 27, through which cold brine is circulated in contact with the exterior of the side walls of the re spective ice cans,while fresh water is intr'oduced through the bottoms of the ice cans to fill the ice cans, an'dcompressed air is introduced through the bottoms "of the ice cans to agitate the fresh water during-the freezing operation.

When itisdesired -to-'harvest the ice, the

cold brineis replaced gradually in the freezing tank with brine sufficiently warm to thaw the ice loose from the side wallsof The central portion of each the ice cans.

of the cross-rails 16 between the'sections 17 and 18 is bowed or inclined" upwardly toa central point at" 28 so as to automatically guide and direct the hook 29' of a traveling matically adjust itself relative to the cross rail'16 to a central point 28 thereon, the

strain of lifting each ice block is applied crane 30 to said point '28 from either sidev thereof. By causing thefhook- 29 to autovertically above-the'center of gravity ofthe ice block and its anchor-member, therebycausing each ice blockto han'gtrue from its I 1 out scraping the walls thereof.

hook 29, and to lift from the ice can with-g T 1 If desired eachice block may be sepa rately lifted from its ice can by the crane and conveyed to the entrance to an ice storage room Where the ice block is deposited upon the floor ready to bedischarged into the storage room and then the tubular arms 34 and 35 of a yoke-shaped thawing member 36 are inserted through the recesses 22 and 23 into the chambers 21 after which a valve 37 is opened to admit warm air or steam from the flexible tube 38 through the tubular arms 34 and 35 to the lower ends of I chambers 21, from which the air or steam escapes around the members 34: and 35, thereby thawing the sections 17 and 18 loose from the ice block and enabling them to be detached from the ice block and returned to one of the ice cans while the ice block from which they are freed is passed on to the ice storage chamber.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, I preferably lift a plurality of ice blocks at one operation of the traveling crane, and for that purpose the self-centering provisions of the several crane hooks 29- With reference to the several 7 pending from the traveling crane enables the crane motor to be controlled to lift orlower the crane hooks. Thus while it would ordinarily be difficult for an opera-tor to adjust a plurality of crane hooks into or out of engagement with a series of anchor members and at the same time to actuate a controlling means to control the crane movements, a series of crane hooks may be readily simultaneously adjusted into relation to a plurality of my improved automatically self-centering anchor members by lowering the hooks close to the ice blocks and pressing the cable 41 by hand or the cross-bar 40 by the foot of the operator as indicated in dotted line in Fig. 1, laterally until the several crane hooks are beneath the respective cross-rails 16, whereupon the operator by hand operates the lever 42 to cause the several crane hooks 29 to be elevated and thereby engaged with and automatically selfcentered relative to the cross-rails 16, after which continued upward movement of the crane hooks 29 results in lifting a plurality of ice blocks at one operation from their cans until they are free from the cans and ready to be transported toward the ice storage chamber. A single operator is thus enabled to connect or disconnect a series of crane hooks to, or from a plurality of anchor members and to simultaneously actuate the crane. Also the anchor members are anchored in firm strong ice at two places with a self-centering automatically adjusting intermediate connection, and means to support the anchor members in place upon the ice cans during the freezing operation.

The ice harvesting apparatus herein shown and described is capable of considerable modification without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. Ice harvesting apparatus comprising a cross-rail having an upwardly bowed central portion to be engaged by a crane hook and a pair of depending tubular sections open at their upper ends and'closed at their lower ends, said tubular :sections being attached to said. cross-rail and depending therefrom into the fresh water of the ice-can upon opposite sides of thecenter of said icecan.

2. Ice harvesting apparatus comprising in combination with a crane-hook, a cross rail having a central portion adapted to be engaged by the crane-hook and upwardly and oppositely inclined to a common central point to automatically adjust and self-center the crane-hook with reference to said crossrail when strain isapplied to said cranehook, and means depending from, said cross-rail into the fresh water of the ice can at opposite sides of the center of the ice can and adapted to be anchored in the ice block by freezing to enable the ice blocks to be automatically adjustably self-centered upon the crane hook.

3. Ice harvesting apparatus comprising in combination with a crane-hook acrossrail having a central portion adapted to be engagedby the crane-hook and upwardly and oppositely'inclined to a common central point to automatically adjust and self-center the crane-hook with reference to said cross-rail when strain is applied to said crane-hook, and a pair of members depending from said cross-rail upon opposite sides of the center of'said cross-rail into the fresh water of the ice can at opposite sides of the center of the ice can and out of contact with the side, walls of the ice can and adapted to be independently anchored in the ice block by freezing to enable the ice blocks. to auto matically adjustably self-center themselves upon the crane, hook. I

4. Ice harvesting apparatus comprising a traveling crane provided with an actuat ing lever and aplurality of spaced crane hooks actuated in unison, a plurality of crossuails mounted above a plurality of ice cans, eachof said cross-rails being upwardly and oppositely inclinedto a common central p'oint to automatically adjust and selfcenter itself with reference to a crane-hook when strain is ap lied to said crane-hooks, and means depen ing from said respective cross-rails upon opposite sidesof the center of said cross-rail and adapted to be independently anchored in the respective ice blocks in pairs by freezing to enable a plurality of ice blocks to be simultaneously moved by a single crane and to respectively automatically adjust themselves With reference to their respective crane hooks.

5. Ice harvesting apparatus comprising a crane-hook, a cross-rail adapted to rest across the upper rim of an ice can and having a central portion adapted to be engaged by said crane-hook and upwardly and oppositely inclined to a common central point 7 to automatically adjust and self-center said cross-rail relative to said crane-hook When strain is applied to said crane-hook, and a pair of depending tubular sections open at their upper ends and closed at their lower ends, said tubular sections being attached to said cross rail and depending therefrom into the fresh Water of the ice can upon opposite sides of the center of said ice-can.

In testimony WhereofI have aflixed my signature.

HENRY D. POWNALL; 

